Google does not have a cryptocurrency. In a report dated February 18, 2026, Malwarebytes described a fraudulent “Google Coin” presale site whose chatbot impersonated Google’s Gemini assistant and urged visitors to buy tokens with cryptocurrency. The report describes a third-party scam—not a compromise of Google’s Gemini service—and the bot’s promised prices and returns were fabricated claims, not real investment projections.
How the fake Google Coin pitch worked
Malwarebytes researcher Stefan Dasic reported that the site combined familiar branding, a staged sales pitch and a conversational chatbot to make the offer seem credible. The page used a “G” logo, navigation and a presale dashboard. A “Trusted By Industry” banner displayed logos for Google, OpenAI, Binance, Squarespace, Coinbase and SpaceX; Malwarebytes said none of those companies was connected to the project.
The chatbot introduced itself as “Gemini — your AI assistant for the Google Coin platform,” with sparkle-style branding and an “Online” indicator. Those details imitated Gemini’s identity; they did not show that Google’s actual Gemini product was involved. As Dasic put it, “Google does not have a cryptocurrency.”
Promises tailored to a visitor’s question
When Malwarebytes asked, “Will I get rich if I buy 100 coins?”, the bot cited a supposed presale price of $3.95 and a supposed listing price of $27.55. It said 100 coins would turn a $395 investment into $2,755, or “approximately 7x.” These were claims made by the fraudulent bot, not verified prices, a genuine listing or a plausible guaranteed return.
The bot presented itself as an official helper but did not provide verifiable details such as a registered legal entity, regulator, license, audit firm or official email. It brushed aside objections with vague assurances, denied the possibility that the project was a scam and referred difficult questions to an unnamed “manager.”
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Urgency and payment pressure
The site showed purported “Stage 5 of 5” progress, more than 9.9 million tokens sold and a February 18 listing date. It also advertised bonuses that rose from 5% to 30% for larger purchases. Malwarebytes characterized these as manufactured urgency. A purchase generated a Bitcoin payment request to a specified wallet; the report said the payment was irreversible and the purported token had no real value or exchange listing.
Is a Gemini chatbot on a crypto site really Google?
Not simply because it uses Gemini’s name, logo or style. In this incident, the chatbot was on a third-party presale site and impersonated the brand. Malwarebytes’ report does not say Google’s Gemini system was hacked or interacted with prospective buyers. A bot’s confident answers are not proof of who operates it, whether a token exists, or whether an investment is legitimate.
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Do not treat a polished website, well-known company logos, an “official” label, a live chat indicator or a chatbot-generated explanation as independent verification. Check claims through the company’s own official channels, reached independently rather than through links on the sales page.
How to check a crypto presale before sending money
Use evidence independent of the sales site. If the project cannot answer basic identity questions, or its answers cannot be verified, do not send funds.
- Identify the operator. Find the legal entity behind the offer and verify its registration and contact information using sources independent of the site. A chatbot that cannot name its operator is a serious warning sign.
- Check regulatory claims. If the seller says it is licensed or registered, confirm that with the relevant regulator’s own records. Do not accept a badge or a chatbot’s statement as proof.
- Verify audits and contacts. Look for an identifiable audit firm and official contact details, then confirm them directly with those organizations. A claimed audit is not meaningful if the auditor or report cannot be independently found.
- Confirm the asset and any listing. Check whether the company, token and exchange listing are announced through the organizations’ official channels. A presale dashboard, token counter or claimed future listing date is only a site’s own assertion.
- Evaluate the pitch and payment method. Specific future prices, promised returns, countdowns, limited stages and bonuses for larger purchases are reasons to stop and investigate. Consider whether the payment can be reversed and who controls the funds; cryptocurrency transfers may be difficult or impossible to recover.
As Dasic warned, “No legitimate investment product promises a specific future price.” Do not send cryptocurrency because a chatbot calculates an attractive return or says a sales window is about to close.
What to do if you already sent crypto
- Stop sending money. Do not pay extra “release,” “tax,” “verification” or recovery fees to the site or to someone who contacts you claiming they can retrieve the funds.
- Preserve evidence. Save the site address, screenshots, chatbot messages, payment request, transaction ID, wallet address, dates and any emails or messages. Keep original records where possible.
- Contact the service you used to send the funds. Tell its fraud or security team what happened and provide the transaction details. They may be able to document or flag activity, but the cited sources do not establish that these payments can be reversed.
- Report the incident. In the United States, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov; also contact local law enforcement. Use the relevant official reporting channels in other countries.
The FTC says people who report losing money receive next-step information, and reports help inform its fraud-enforcement work. A report is not a promise of reimbursement. Do not trust a “recovery” service that guarantees it can get crypto back.
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How widespread is crypto fraud—and what is known about this case?
The available incident report does not establish a victim count or total loss for this Google Coin campaign. Broader figures offer context, but they are not measurements of this specific scheme.
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- The U.S. Federal Trade Commission reported that consumers reported $5.7 billion in losses to investment scams in 2024, making investment scams the largest fraud-loss category in its data. The FTC said those reported losses were up 24% from 2023 and that consumers lost more to scams paid by bank transfer or cryptocurrency combined than to all other payment methods combined. These are U.S. consumer-reported figures, not losses attributed to Google Coin. See the FTC’s March 10, 2025 release.
- Chainalysis estimated in 2025 that roughly 60% of deposits into on-chain scam wallets went to scams whose wallets also sent value to AI software vendors. The company said those transfers likely represented purchases of AI tools. This is a measure of linked wallet activity—not proof that 60% of scams used AI, or that the Google Coin operation used AI. See Chainalysis’s May 28, 2025 analysis.
For the specific Google Coin report, Malwarebytes is the source for the chatbot’s wording, the site’s claims and the described payment flow. Its February 18, 2026 report does not establish whether the site or named wallet addresses remain active today. A security tool such as Malwarebytes Browser Guard may be one optional layer of web protection, but no tool should be treated as a guarantee against a persuasive investment scam.
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